Twila: Parsonsfield. What I heard of them was fantastic, and I’m loving the EP that I picked up. Hopefully I will get to see them again in the near future.

Sable: Bear’s Den. Their full voiced harmonies and poignant yet simple lyrics had a raw confidence to them that made me a big fan.

Favorite Workshop

Twila: The best laid plans…you know the story. I had planned on going to Sunday’s ‘Let’s Talk About It In The Morning’ -I did research on the performers and everything. But I was waylaid by Stage 5’s ‘Hymns and Laments’ and was I ever thankful that I was drawn to this workshop full of Canadian favourites James Keelaghan, Rose Cousins, Ruth Moody and, John Mann. The integration of performances and the respect & admiration that was on the stage radiated out into the audience. The spirit of cooperation was easily heard as Cousins and Moody blended their voices beautifully. I’m not sure there was a dry eye in the place after Keelaghan sang McConnville’s or perhaps maybe the most memorable moment was the laughter and heads bobbing along in agreement when Mann sang his instructions for his wife on the event of his death “It’s not a sign, it’s just the wind…‘.

Sable:

The Heroes session was my favorite with 100 Mile House, Elephant Revival, Gregory Alan Isakov, and John Mann. It was the perfect session with music that balanced the surroundings. The rain had just finished falling around 6 PM on the hill and people were drying off in the cool air at the start of the workshop. There was a beautiful moment when the sun began to peek through the clouds as 100 Mile House were singing Better, Still. Elephant Revival is always excellent in workshop sessions because of the number of instruments you can call upon for a solo. Plus, you know Bonnie can always improv a washboard percussion in any piece.

Blue Rodeo led the Hill in a sing-a-long of Ian Tyson’s ‘Four Strong Winds‘ to close out the 35th annual Edmonton Folk Music Festival, and the end of our Folk on the Road circuit. Bittersweet for sure, and I’ll be singing along to Four Strong Winds looped on repeat for the next week or so. Here are some pics from last day… ‘Our good times are all gone, and I’m bound for moving on. I’ll look for you if I’m ever back this way.’